


I Will Fix You

by allthestonyfeels



Category: The Avengers (2012)
Genre: Hurt/Comfort, M/M, PTSD, Tony Feels
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-03-07
Updated: 2013-04-29
Packaged: 2017-12-04 14:38:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 12,752
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/711840
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/allthestonyfeels/pseuds/allthestonyfeels
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>During a battle Tony takes damage which triggers his PTSD. He tries to hide it from the rest of the Avengers but Steve has been watching Tony. Probably more than he should and wants to help fix him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. I

**Author's Note:**

> This was all proof read by the wonderful Morphia (http://archiveofourown.org/users/morphia).   
> Without her this would not have been possible. Go check her out, she's awesome! =)

"Fuck!" Screamed Tony as the giant mutant octopus wrapped a tentacle around his chest.

  
"Hold on, Tony, we're coming!" Shouted Steve in reply to Tony's cry. "Clint, get me some covering fire. Thor, go for the eyes." He ordered.

  
For the Avengers this was just another ordinary day. They hadn't fought a giant mutant octopus in the docks yet, but there had been plenty of other giant this's and mutant that's. They had been fighting it for 20 minutes and it really should have been put down by now, but Clint's well placed explosive arrow turned out to be the confetti arrow that was rigged for parties...

  
"I'll kill him!" Clint muttered as his arrow burst into colourful pieces of paper instead of flames and smoke. He was all for Tony upgrading his bow and giving him all these new and exciting arrows to try out, but not everyone was as tech savvy as Tony and these constant upgrades were hard to keep track of when you're in the field fighting say, a giant freaking mutant octopus!

  
"Urgh!" Steve watched as Tony was crying out in pain. He could just make out the Iron Man armour starting to bend and buckle inwards on itself. _‘What’s taking Thor so long? He only has to swing a little hammer.’_ Steve was ready to climb one of the tentacles himself and save Tony when Thor called down a mighty strike of thunder on the beast. Tony was tossed to one side and Steve saw him hit the water.

  
"Tony?" Steve got nothing but static from Tony's intercom. Just then, Tony blasted out of the water and landed sloppily on the pier. "Ton--" The Iron Man armour was gushing water out from the cracks created by the eight-legged cephalopod. Tony put his hand to his ear and opened the helmet's face plate. Even more water gushed out and Tony gasped for breath. _‘There couldn't have been that much room in there’_ thought Steve, amazed by how much water was coming out. He was about to make his way over to see if Tony was okay.

  
WHACK! A purple tentacle slammed into the ground less than a metre away from Steve. He could see the suction cups pulsating and it made him shudder. _‘There are more important matters at hand’_ he thought to himself and threw himself back into the fight. He did a quick scan of the field. Clint was repositioning to a better vantage point while Natasha was dodging and flipping all of the tentacled attacks with grace and ease. One would expect no less from the deadly Russian spy. He looked again at Tony but he was gone. Vanished from sight.

 

Tony panicked when he saw the water rush into his suit. There was nothing he could do to stop it. Within seconds it was over his face and he couldn't breath. He could hear Jarvis saying something but it was all watery and distorted. He kicked his repulsor boots into gear and got himself shoreside. He landed with a thud and only just maintained his balance. He opened his helmet and took a large breath of fresh air. He jolted as his chest shot a spasm of pain though his entire torso. That's when it happened. He was there. He was back. He could smell the damp sand on the cave floor, feel the fresh scars in his chest and feel the weight of the battery under his arm. More deep breaths and more jolts of pain shot through him. It felt like he was back in that barrel with a hand on the back of his head, he could feel his battery short circuiting as the water splashed out and over the barrel sending volts straight into his new wounds.

He couldn't take it, he lifted off into the air and went straight to the roof of a nearby building. He was just above the battle and out of his teammates’ sight. He collapsed to his knees, his breath caught in his throat, his vision blurry. _He was having a panic attack._ He was sure because Jarvis had just told him so in his ear. He could see that Ten Rings bastard's face, smell his musky B.O, hear the bullets pinging off the cave walls.

"Sir, are you alright? Sir?"

  
"Yes, Jarvis I'm fine. Let's just get this finished and go home. _I want to go home._ "

  
Tony launched off from the building as the clouds were gathering. Thor let rip another bolt of thunder and the creature shrieked and became disoriented for a second.  
"Jarvis reroute power to Unibeam. Let's end this!"

  
Steve looked up and saw Tony hovering over head. His arc reactor glowing dangerously bright. "Pull back guys!" He called at Thor, Clint and Natasha and where the hell was Bruce? Bruce was having a few issues with living in the Avengers tower. The biggest one being that he was not used to being kept in such tight quarters, especially ones as expensive as the Avengers tower. Every Time he went into battle and let the big guy loose, he had trouble reigning him in after having him kept on such a tight leash in the tower. With his men cleared, Steve was about to look up at Tony, when a dark shadow filled the ground around him.

  
"Smash!" Roared the Hulk as he leapt off the building that Tony had just been on and pounded his fists straight into the beast's head as he pushed him down into the depths and crashed into the sea bed. He came flying back out of the water with the creature in tow. He wrenched it over his shoulder and smashed it into the ground in front of them. The creature landed with a sickening wet plop and the rest of the Avengers got covered in slime and whatever the hell that mutant was made of.  
"Eww! Do you know how long this will take to get out of my hair!"

  
"Quit your bitching, Clint. You haven't got any hair. I'd be more worried about getting your equipment up to speed." Natasha snapped back, glaring daggers at Clint. Clint smiled sheepishly and radioed in the Quinjet.  
"Twas a valiant effort comrades!" Beamed Thor, "Bruce your inner warrior never ceases to amaze me!" Thor went to embrace the big green guy and was knocked back ten metres. The hulk smiled, relishing his last few moments of freedom and chaos.  
They all gathered around the Quinjet as it landed. Coulson popped his head out as the door opened and made a quick assessment of the collateral damage. Apart from a mile wide spattering of goo, they seemed to have done better than usual. They all clambered in. Tony took off his helmet as he sat down slowly and placed it on the floor. Steve noticed him wince as he sat down.

  
"How's the armour holding up?" Steve asked with a worried look at Tony.

  
"Fine, Cap. Never better. Could do with a few repairs and some improvements to flexibility but it's all good!" Tony said with as much enthusiasm as he could muster. _He just wants to go home and curl up in bed and forget this ever happened._

  
"Looks like you might have taken some of the blow, you sure you're okay, Tony?"

  
"Jeez, Cap you're starting to sound like my mom! I know you're a grandpa but we kids can look after ourselves, haha" Tony’s mouth went into auto pilot as his fake-it charm spewed out and covered his pain. He instantly regretted it when he saw Steve's face drop. _Why aren't they home yet?_ Steve looked wounded and stared down at his feet. He was just making sure Tony, er, his team were okay after combat. Steve and Tony both remained silent for the rest of the trip back to the tower.


	2. II

“Damn it!” 

“Sir, you need to hold still.”

  
“And you need to do your damn job!” Yelled Tony. He was in the middle of getting his battered Iron Man armour removed and JARVIS was having difficulty with the torso. “Ah, ow!” Tony couldn’t wait for it to come off and all this movement, being pushed and pulled by heavy machinery was really making him aware of how much the crumpled metal was digging into his ribs.  
  
“Oh God, Tony are you alright?” Steve’s worried voice came from the workshop entrance. He hurried over to Tony when he saw him entangled in a bunch of mechanical arms.  
  
“I’m fine, Cap. Just having trouble getting this tin can off of me. You couldn’t lend a hand, could you?” Steve immediately sprung into action and started to pry off the chest plate. The super soldier peeled it back with ease. “Ugh. Thanks, Cap” said Tony, relieved, “I was beginning to think I’d never get that thing off of me. Who said them muscles are just to look at.” He said with a devious grin.  
  
Steve blushed a little. _‘Did he really just say that to me? Is he flirting with me? Of course not! He’s Tony Stark, world’s biggest charmer. That’s how he talks to everyone.’_ Steve, lost in thought looked up and saw Tony struggling to get over to his workstation. He rushed over and put an arm around his waist to support him. Tony let out a hiss of pain as Steve grabbed at his sore torso.  
  
“You should come up to the medical bay, Tony. JAVIS, could you call Bruce and have him meet us there?” Steve said clearly, like he was issuing an order on the battlefield, gradually pushing Tony towards the door. Looks like Tony didn’t have a choice.  
  
“Understood, Mr. Rogers.”  
  
“I’m fine really, I just need a cup of coffee,” lied Tony “and to fabricate a new suit.“ Steve didn’t seem to be paying any attention to Tony protests, and was still pushing him out and into the elevator. When they were inside, Steve let go of Tony, and he had to lean on the rail in the elevator to steady himself.  
  
Tony had slapped away Steve’s hand when he tried to support him again as they exited the elevator. When they arrived at the medical bay, Bruce was already there waiting for them. Tony shuffled through grumpily with Steve trailing behind him.  
  
“I’m going to assume this has something to do with your amour getting crushed earlier.” Bruce said with a light-hearted smile. “Could you sit on the table for me, Tony, and take off your shirt?” Tony painfully heaved himself on the table and pulled his shirt over his head. Steve walked around to Bruce. He felt like a spare part, but he didn’t want to leave. Seeing Tony wounded like this made something in Steve ache. He couldn’t leave, not until he was sure Tony was okay.  
  
“Jeez, Bruce, is that you or the Hulk prodding me!”  
  
“I’m sorry Tony, but it looks like you’ve broken several ribs. I’ve got to apply a little pressure to find out how much damage you’ve done.” Bruce took a step back, took off his glasses and began rubbing them with the corner of his shirt. “I’m going to have to wrap some bandages around your chest for a week or two Tony, it’ll help support your chest while the bones are healing.” Knowing Tony’s history with anything medical related he added, “you may find it a little uncomfortable, but you need to keep them on for your own benefit.”  
  
Tony just shrugged, “whatever, just hurry up. I need to get back to my workshop.”  
  
“Steve, you mind giving me a hand?” Bruce and Steve passed the bandage back and forth between one another as they wrapped it around Tony. Steve thought it was a little on the tight side, and watched as Tony winced every time they went around him, the bruising already visible.

 

' _God, this is uncomfortable.’_ thought Tony. _‘Uncomfortable and a waste of my time, I could have already had the suit --’_ His thought trailed off. Was that blood? Were Tony’s eyes deceiving him? No, that really was blood! It was slowly spreading into a larger patch on the front of his chest. _‘Why hasn’t Steve or Bruce noticed? Where are they? Where am I?’_ Tony’s mind began to race as the panic set in. He swung his legs around and over the edge of the cot. He planted his legs shakily on the sandy floor.

  
“Calm down, Tony” Yinsen had said in a soothing tone. “You passed out during the surgery, but it went well. You need to stay still though, as your sudden awakening has pulled a few stitches loose. Not to worry.” Yinsen’s smiling face loomed over him.  
  
  
“Tony? Tony! Tony are they too tight?” Steve’s panicked voice cut through Tony’s mind and brought him back to the medical bay. He was breathing heavily and his freshly broken ribs were screaming in protest.  
  
“Yeah, no, they’re fine. Fine, Steve.” He stuttered.  
  
“Are you okay, Tony? You were clawing at your chest.” Asked Bruce, concerned. “If they’re too tight or interfering with your arc reactor we can reposition them.”  
  
“No. They’re fine. I just - just need to get back to my workshop.” He slipped off the table and pushed past them. He was almost pinballing off the walls as he stumbled down the corridor towards the elevator. The corridor seemed to get longer and freedom further away, like a bad dream. He was too afraid to look back to see if Steve and Bruce were following him. He just hoped he could beat them to his workshop. The doors had dinged open as he approached. He stepped inside, still not daring to turn around. He slid down the wall of the elevator as the doors closed, trying desperately to catch his breath. _‘What the fuck, Tony?! Get your shit together! This can’t be happening again.’_


	3. III

“Suck it!” Clint exclaimed as he leapt off the couch and started victory dancing in Thor’s face.   
  
Thor enjoyed playing video games with Clint, even if he was a bad winner, it was a great way to relax after combat. In Asgard, after a battle they would hold such magnificent feasts, share battle stories and raise their spoils of war high in the air for all to marvel over. On Midgard, things were different, more relaxed and low key but Thor enjoyed himself all the same. He was getting good at _Calls to Duty_ and was edging ever closer to besting Clint. Especially now he wasn’t breaking as many controllers...  
  
“Does anyone want coffee? I’m going to take one down to Tony.” Asked Steve from the kitchen.  
  
“You’d be better off getting him more ice for his Bourbon.” Sniped Clint.  
  
“It’s not a good idea to assume the worst of people, Clint.” Bruce chipped in, “You should give the guy a break. He did take a bit of a hit last week.”  
  
“To his pride maybe.” added Natasha. “I’m sure he’ll surface and show his face again once he’s had a chance to reboot his ego.”  
  
“Oh God, he’ll be unbearable,” laughed Clint. Steve tried to ignore them and finished up making the coffee for Tony. He had found himself missing Tony’s presence. As much as the man once grated on his nerves Steve had warmed to Tony as they spent more time in each other’s company. As big as Avengers’ Tower was, it seemed that all the Avengers liked to cram themselves into the living room and spend as much time together as possible. They were quickly becoming one big family. Steve preferred it this way. It was better than sitting alone in his Brooklyn apartment that SHIELD had issued him when he was first recovered.  
  
  
  
Tony could hear them shouting at him from all directions, but he couldn’t understand a word. One of the men behind him hit the back of his head with the rifle butt and sent him to his knees. He hadn’t slept in days and these rude awakenings were becoming more and more frequent. He tried to turn his head and check on Yinsen but a greasy hand grabbed his jaw and wrenched his head back around. “You make missile!” Tony could feel the man’s hot breath hit his face. “You make missile!”   
  
“No!” Tony spat back. Two men grabbed his arms and dragged him out of the cell. His battery trailed behind. It felt like he was pulling a truck with his chest. He was propped up on his feet, staring down at the barrel of dirty water that he’d come to know a lot more intimately than he’d like.  
  
“You make missile!” He felt a hand on the back of his neck start to push him down.  
  
  
  
Steve entered the workshop and saw Tony sprawled across his work bench. Steve had been down here before, when Tony had been up for a couple of days working on a project that just couldn’t wait. He’d seen him asleep at his station surrounded by pieces of metal, glowing tech and all manner of tools and schematics. Normally, Steve would feel a smile creep over his face at about this time, as he saw how passionate his team mate could be. A quality few people got to witness. How Tony had neglected all else as the moment had whisked him away to his own little creative bubble.   
  
This time was different. Something was wrong. He could hear Tony saying something in his sleep, although it was too muffled to make out the words. The sheen of sweat on Tony’s forehead caught the light and Steve instantly recognised the signs of a bad dream. Hell, he’d had enough of them himself. Being trapped in ice for 70 years will  do that to a man.  
  
Steve went over to Tony’s side and gently placed his hand between Tony’s shoulder-blades. Tony instantly sat bolt upright and took in a deep breath. His eyes wide and panicked, frantically searching the room. Steve stepped back in shock. He put his hand on Tony’s shoulder and leaned in closer to his face. “Tony.” He said firmly. Tony’s eyes found Steve and he relaxed. “Tony, I’m sorry I woke you. Are you okay?”  
  
“Never better, Cap.” Tony replied without missing a beat. “I didn’t mean to scare you there, haha.” Tony ran his hand up the back of his head and stretched. “Guess I got a little carried away again. Is that for me?”   
  
Steve took a second before he realised Tony was looking at the cup in his hand. “Um, yeah. I, er, thought you might want a cup of coffee but I may have spilt some on your floor.”   
  
“Don’t worry, it’ll cover up all those oil stains.” Tony said with a wink, taking the coffee from Steve.  
  
“We’re all going to watch a film later. I didn’t know if you’d want to come up and join us. You’ve been down here a while and I thought you might want a break.” Steve was staring at the floor. He felt like he was intruding and yet, he really didn’t want to leave Tony down here alone.   
  
“I’ll have to take a rain check, Cap. All that sleeping’s put me behind schedule. Thanks for the coffee, though.”   
  
Steve couldn’t hide the disappointment on his face. He wanted to throw Tony over his shoulder and drag him upstairs but instead he just turned and left.   
  
Tony waited till Steve had exited before he let out a huge sigh. He felt a twinge in his ribs and put his hand up to his side. He could feel the bandages under his shirt. He should’ve probably taken them off by now but they were doing a good job of blocking out the light from his arc reactor. He just couldn’t stand to look at it lately. He took a long sip of the coffee Steve brought him and went back to work. _‘It was nice of Steve to bring me this. I hope he brings more.’_  
  
In the elevator on the ride back up from the workshop, Steve ran a hand through his hair and tried to work out what to do about Tony. He knew something’s up, but no one else seemed to care or even notice. He mentioned Tony’s behaviour to the rest of the Avenger’s a couple of days earlier and they had all laughed at him. He didn’t want to pester them again with it, but he was the team’s leader and it’s his duty to look after his team mates. _Isn’t it?_ The elevator doors slid open and he saw Clint halfway up a bookshelf with what looked like the tv remote in his hand. Thor and Bruce were standing underneath him yelling for him to come down. Natasha sat over the other side of the room on the couch filing her nails. Steve pushed the button for his floor and continued up in the elevator. He walked into his room and dropped down on the bed. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone.   
  
“Hello?”  
  
“Hi, Pepper. It’s me, Steve. Can I ask you about Tony?”  
  
“What’s he done now?”


	4. IV

“That son of a bitch!” Yelled Pepper down the phone.

**** “No, no it’s not like that. Seriously, why does everybody go straight to that?” Said Steve exhausted, as he pinched his nose. “I’d stake my life on it, Tony hasn’t been drinking!”

**** “Calm down, Steve. I’m sorry. It’s just- Tony’s an alcoholic and he’s not exactly got the greatest track record of coping well with new situations. What with all you guys moving in a couple of months ago, it’s a bit of a big change for anyone.”

**** “It’s no wonder he drinks when he's surrounded by people with so little faith in him.” Mumbled Steve angrily. Pepper remained silent. She was trying to pretend what Steve had said wasn’t true, but there was more truth to that statement than she really wanted to admit to herself. Steve let out a long sigh. “Pepper. I’m sorry. I’m misdirecting my frustration, I didn’t mean to upset you. I just... I just don’t know what to do. No one here wants to help and I can see something’s wrong, I just know it.” He let out another frustrated sigh. “I just don’t know who else to turn to.”

**** “Okay, tell me again what’s different.”

**** Steve started reeling off his observations of Tony like a teenage girl stalking her favourite celebrity. “He’s been down in his workshop all week. He’s barely left, not even for his usual coffee runs to catch up on what everyone else is up to. He looks a mess. I mean, I know he’s not going to be wearing a freshly pressed suit while he’s working down there, but it looks like he’s been sleeping in that shirt for days. Not that it looks like he’s been sleeping much, well apart from when I woke him up. I probably shouldn’t have woken him up. I don’t think he’s eaten much either. I saw him grab that sandwich the other night but he barely said two words, just made it and went. Disappeared in that weird rockstar light show. Maybe Jarvis has been ordering in take out--”

**** “Whoa! Back up, Steve. What was that about the lights?” Interrupted Pepper.

**** “The lights? Oh, it’s probably nothing. I think it must be some new power saving thing he’s doing or something. It looks like he’s got JARVIS following him around the tower with the lights. As he moves through the rooms and corridors the lights kinda follow him. Reminds me of the rockstars with a trail of spotlights illuminating the stage, you know?”

**** “I’ll be right there.” Pepper hung up. _‘She sounded worried, should I be worried?’_ Steve wondered _‘have I been watching Tony too much?’_

**  
**

“I would like to inform you that Miss Potts is at the door.” Alerted JARVIS. Steve leapt off the couch.

“I’ll get it!” He declared and ran off to meet her.

“Good.” Said Clint as he passed the bowl of popcorn back to Thor, “‘cause I wasn’t getting up.” Natasha shushed him. Her favourite part of the movie is coming up. She can’t help but love the interrogation scene in _Reservoir Dogs_ and she’d be damned if Clint was going to spoil it for her.

“I’m just going to make some more popcorn.” Whispered Bruce as he slipped away into the kitchen. He’s still not a big fan of watching uncomfortable scenes in movies while he’s cooped up in the tower with his friends. He poked his head out of the kitchen just as the elevator doors closed on Steve and Pepper.

“Thanks for coming, Pepper, but you had me a little worried on the phone.” Greeted Steve as he took Pepper’s coat.

“I had to come. If it’s what I think it is.” She stopped in front of the elevator. Steve looked at her, hanging on her words. Pepper’s face was screwed up in worry. “I hope for his sake, he’s hit the bottle.” She sighed and entered the elevator.

“Pepper! Why would you say something like that!” Exclaimed Steve in shock.

“I’ve dealt with something similar before, back when it was just me and Tony. It was a mess. It took us months to clean up.” She looked down at her feet. Steve thought he saw her eyes glisten in the dull light from the elevator.

Pepper composed herself and asked, “what happened before all this? Has he had any accidents in his workshop?”

“Accidents? I don’t think so.” Steve thought back to the previous week. “Oh! He sustained a bit of an injury in combat last week. It was nothing major, just a couple of cracked ribs.”

“That could be it, Steve.”

“But he’s cracked ribs before and he’s been fine. In fact he’s had worse injuries than this and never batted an eyelid.”

“I thought he was in an ‘invincible’ suit? How accident prone is he? Never mind, we’ll pick this up later.” Said Pepper annoyed. “There must have been something else. What else happened, Steve?” Steve began to recall the battle to Pepper as best as he could remember.

“...Oh yeah, he hit the water after that.”

“What?” Exclaimed Pepper as the elevator doors dinged open.

“It’s amazing how much water that suit can hold! I guess Tony’s not the biggest built guy, doesn’t really fill out the suit” Said Steve, lost in thought as he held the workshop door open for Pepper.

“Oh God, that’s it.” She said under her breath as she walked past Steve. “Tony!”

Tony heard the elevator ding and looked up from his work bench. He had hoped it was Steve again with another cup of coffee or maybe a sandwich, he was hungrier than he thought. Pepper appeared at the door.

“Tony!” She shouted to him as her heels clicked against the floor. There was a tone to her voice that made Tony uneasy.

“Whatever you need me to sign, just leave it over there. I’ve got too much to do at the minute.” He was lying of course. He’d been down here for days now desperately trying to keep himself busy, trying to take his mind off things.

“No, Tony. I came to see you. How are you feeling? Steve tells me you’ve cracked some ribs. I thought you said the suit was ‘invincible’?” It always amazed Tony how Pepper could go from concerned to accusing all in one breath.

“It is, there was just a minor miscalculation. Nothing to worry about. You should see the new and improved armour. It’s twice as strong and the sound system is badass!” Grinned Tony. “Anyway, since when are you and Cap BFF’s, gossiping over the phone about me? I’m flattered.” Steve shifted around uncomfortably behind Pepper.

She ignored Tony’s attempts at deflection and continued her assault. “And when was the last time you took a shower, you stink!”

“All the ladies love my manly musk.”

“I’m surprised your _musk_ hasn’t attracted flies, Tony!” Barked Pepper.

“Whoa! Slow down, Pepper. What important meeting have I missed to incur this level of anger? Have you been taking lessons from the big guy upstairs?” He chuckled.

“This is not a joke Tony! Why didn’t you call me. We made it through before by the skin of our teeth. Why didn’t you call!” Pepper choked back a sob.

Tony froze, _‘she knows’_  he didn’t want her to find out. He was stronger than he had been back then, he thought he could handle this on his own. He didn’t want to see Pepper look at him like she did back then, it broke his heart. Pepper looked up, tears had rolled down her cheeks. Steve had his arm wrapped around her shoulders.

“Pepper, I...” He started and then hung his head in defeat, “...I’m fine. You shouldn’t have got yourself upset over nothing.” He’d chickened out. He should have said it: _I need help._ but he couldn’t, he couldn’t do that to Pepper again.

She narrowed her eyes at him. “JARVIS, lights off.” She ordered.

“Pepper, no!” Shrieked Tony “On! On! JARVIS!” He stuttered helplessly.

“It doesn’t sound like nothing to me.” Said Pepper dryly. Tony ran over to her and collapsed at her feet. His arms wrapped tightly around her legs as if he was clinging for dear life, Steve noted. _Just what the hell had he missed?_

“Steve, do you mind giving us a minute?” asked Pepper in a much more soft and soothing tone than she had been using moments ago.

“Um, sure. I’ll be upstairs if you need me.”

“No, wait!” begged Tony, his head still buried in the fabric of Pepper’s trousers. “Don’t go, Steve,” Tony cleared his throat. “U-unless you have something else you need to do.” Steve looked to Pepper. She smiled back at him weakly. Steve felt he was in too deep to pull out now. Whatever this was, this is the most open and vulnerable he’d ever seen Tony and he wouldn’t miss an opportunity like this, to get to know him a little better. Get to know the real Tony, the one without the huge barriers around him. It seemed the suit wasn’t the only armour protecting Tony. Not to mention what he wouldn’t give to be Pepper’s legs right now.


	5. V

“Where’s Steve?” Questioned Tony impatiently. 

“He’s gone upstairs to fetch us some drinks. I imagine he needs time to process this.” Said Pepper as she rested her hand on Tony’s head. “You should go and sit down, Tony. You can’t be comfortable down there.” Tony said nothing. He let go of Pepper’s legs and she lead him over to the couch. 

“Do you think Steve will help me?” Tony looked at Pepper hopefully. 

Pepper chuckled. “Something tells me Steve wants to stick around. It seems you’ve both been watching each other.” She smiled fondly. 

“What are you implying, Pepper?” Said Tony as he raised an eyebrow. 

“So you’re telling me you go upstairs to get your coffee through the day when there’s a perfectly good coffee machine down here? Nothing to do with the fact that Steve is normally up there?” 

“It’s good exercise!” He exclaimed. “Seeing Steve is just a bonus.” A little smiled creeped across his face. In fact it quickly turned into a grin. “I hope he comes back.”

 

Steve returned ten minutes later, with three fresh cups of coffee and set them down on the table in front of Pepper and Tony. They’d moved to the worn leather couch in the corner of Tony’s workshop. Pepper had her arm around Tony’s shoulders, while he just stared into the distance. Tony snatched the coffee off the table and took a long gulp. He held it in his hands, leant forward with his elbows resting on his thighs. Steve noticed Tony’s hands were shaking. 

“I‘m really sorry you got sucked into this, Steve. I should have said something sooner but I just didn’t want my suspicions to be true.” Pepper gave Tony’s back a quick rub and then sat back and turned to Steve. “It all started after we got Tony back from Afghanistan. I’m sure SHIELD has a file on it somewhere.” She said as she waved her hand. 

“Yes, ma’am, but its security clearance is of the highest. I think only Nick Fury himself has access to that file. Was there a mission out there?” Steve tilted his head in curiosity, Pepper hesitated. She looked to Tony, but he was a million miles away staring into his cup. 

“Well to cut a long story short. Tony was out there promoting Stark Industries’ latest weapons and was captured by a terrorist organisation, out to get their hands on this latest tech.” She paused while Steve took in the new information, he brought his hand up to his chin. She continued, “He was out there three months before he made his escape and Rhodey found him out in the desert. When he came home to Malibu I stayed in the guest room a couple of nights trying to get all the paperwork and such in order. Tony being Tony wanted to get straight back to work. After the first night I saw him acting strange, so I watched him. If I were Tony, I'd have taken a nice long shower first, but no. He just sat at the other end of the couch and watched me sort through all the paperwork. He had no interest in going down to his workshop. As it got later he started falling asleep on the couch so I excused myself and went to bed, hoping he’d follow suit. He didn’t. He was just pacing around the house and watching tv all night. It drove me nuts because all I wanted to do was sleep.” She paused and chuckled, “but he had all the lights on and it was just impossible.” Pepper caught Tony smiling. “Anyway the next morning I asked if he wanted to use the shower before me and still he refused. When I came out of the shower he was asleep on the couch again but he was flailing about and shouting. I ran over to wake him up. How long was it before you got a full night’s sleep, Tony?” 

“Hmm? Maybe nine weeks?” Mumbled Tony into his cup. 

“Eleven weeks and 2 days, sir.” Corrected JARVIS. 

Steve ran a hand through his hair. He connected the dots. He’d seen enough soldiers back in the war come back from the front lines with shell-shock, as it was called it back then. It destroyed men. Good men, strong men, some of the finest soldiers he’d met. He looked again at Tony. His face was sunken, the skin pale and clammy. The worst part was his eyes. Tony’s eyes had lost that sparkle, the essence of charm and mischief, gone. That’s when it hit Steve. _‘I’m in love with Tony. But this isn’t Tony. I want to get him back’._  

Pepper cleared her throat and continued her story. “I ended up staying and sharing a bed with him for weeks.” 

_‘That sounds nice.’_ Thought Steve. 

“He refused to fall asleep alone if he could help it. In the beginning, after about ninety minutes, at most, the nightmares would start. He’d wake up screaming and lost. He couldn’t place himself, always thought he was back in the cave. Once he saw me, he’d know he was home and safe again. It was awful. He couldn’t even take a shower for two weeks! Do you know what those sick bastards did to him!” Said Pepper getting herself riled up. 

“Easy, Pepper.” Tony soothed as he leaned back and put his jittering hand on her knee. 

“I’m sorry, Tony. It just makes me so mad that people can even do that!” She wiped away the angry tears that had formed. “You ever heard of waterboarding, Steve?” He had but before he could answer Pepper leapt back into her tale. “It’s just evil and we really struggled getting over that. You know what’s worse? Doing it to a man who’s hooked up to a car battery!” 

“Whoa! What was that?” Blurted out Steve, nearly choking on his coffee. 

“Tony, did you not even tell them about the Arc Reactor?” Tony took his hand off Pepper’s knee and took a sip of his coffee. “When they captured Tony, his chest was full of shrapnel. He had days to live before it tore its way through his heart, but luckily they put him in a cell with, what was his name, Tony?” 

“Yinsen.” 

“Yinsen, that’s right. He was a great surgeon, and he managed to surgically implant a magnet into Tony’s chest which ran on a car battery. It stopped the shrapnel from moving deeper into his heart and it kept him alive long enough so he could build the missiles for them.” 

“I didn’t build it!” Tony cried out. 

“I’m sorry, I know that, Tony.” Pepper leaned forward and rubbed his back again soothingly. “Yeah, so he was walking around carrying this battery everywhere with him while his chest was still wrapped in bloody bandages. They wouldn’t let him sleep and they kept torturing him until he helped them. That’s how he escaped. He and Yinsen built the Arc Reactor out of the missile parts and he used it to fashion the first Iron Man suit and escape!” Pepper said proudly, as if her son had just won first prize at the school science fair. “I saw it on the second night. I went to confront him about leaving all the lights on when I was trying to sleep and he showed me. Said he didn’t like the way it glowed in the darkness and he couldn’t just turn it off, like I had stupidly suggested.” She chuckled again, it seemed to be more of a nervous giggle than anything. 

“Well that does explain why you’ve been behaving so weird..” Said Steve after he’d taken in Pepper’s story. “I wish you would've told us. We could have helped. We could have done something sooner. I can’t believe you’ve been down here dealing with this all week alone.” Tony looked over at Steve, his eye’s red and looking like tears were gonna fall from them any second. Steve reached over and put his hands firmly on Tony’s shoulders. “Don’t worry, Tony. I’m not going nowhere, we’ll get through this. Er, i-if you want me to help, that is?” asked Steve sheepishly pulling his hands back. Tony smiled and just for a second Steve thought he saw the sparkle flash across Tony’s eyes. 

“Steve, could you come upstairs and give me a hand ordering some take out. Looks like it’s going to be a long night. We’ll be right back, Tony.” Pepper interrupted as she stood up from the couch. 

She all but pushed Steve out of the room and into the elevator. “I’m really sorry about all of this, Steve. If you want to just go and leave us to it, I’ll understand.” 

“No! I meant what I said, Pepper. We're gonna do this together. He’s my friend and I’m not going to just stand by and leave him to suffer!” Steve had replied a lot louder and more enthusiastically than he’d intended. 

“Can I ask you something, Steve?” Asked Pepper with a mischievous grin spreading across her face. “Do you _like_ Tony?” The question caught Steve off guard and he stumbled back in the elevator. 

“I, um ,no- I mean yes!” Steve blushed and stared at the floor. “He’s my teammate and a good friend. Of course I like him.” He hoped she had bought it, but when he saw the smile on her face  Steve knew it was no good. He’d been rumbled. 

“Well he likes you. He told me. Especially as he is letting you in on this. This is big.” The doors slid open and Pepper casually walked out and into the living room. “Who wants take out?” Steve remained standing in the elevator, speechless.

“Are you summoning forth food?” Boomed Thor as he rushed over to Pepper. All the other Avengers followed and crowded around her like pigeons around breadcrumbs. Steve walked over to the kitchen table and sat down. “This is no time to sit, brother! Fetch plates for our impending feast!” Nothing got Thor more excited than food.


	6. VI

Steve hadn’t gotten much sleep that night. He was going over what had happened. He’d had no idea what Tony had been through and it really opened his eyes to the man inside the suit. It answered a lot of questions about why Tony was the way he was. He put down the dumbbells and looked at his watch: 5.58am. Steve didn’t normally hit the Tower’s gym until six but since he couldn’t sleep he had come down early. He stepped onto the treadmill and began to run.

 _‘I can’t do this.’_ He thought to himself over and over. Pepper had given him all her tips and explained the techniques she had used when she’d looked after Tony in the past. She was with Tony now. She’d spent the night hoping Tony would get some sleep. She was due to leave soon. Pepper was the CEO at Stark Industries now and with Tony out of commission it was up to her to pick up his slack. That’s why Tony’s care was entrusted to Steve. He checked his watch again: 6.42am. Steve stepped off the treadmill and wiped his face with the corner of the towel hung around his neck. He returned to his room to shower and get dressed.

Tony sat at the kitchen table with his arms folded in front of him and his head resting on them. He watched Pepper dart around the kitchen as she prepared herself some breakfast while she simultaneously packed up her bag, getting ready to head off to the office.

“Are you sure you don’t want some toast?” She asked again.

“No, I’m good.” Came Tony’s muffled reply. _What he wanted was Steve._

Tony hadn’t gotten much sleep that night either, he was glad Pepper had stayed with him but all he could think about was Steve. He had been watching him for some time. Their relationship had started off strained, but over time, Tony had began to enjoy pushing Steve’s buttons just as an excuse to engage and spend time around him. After a while, he felt bad about it and just sat in the background, watching him. Tony was truly gifted with his speech and oozed charm and charisma. That winning smile alone had closed many successful business deals for Tony, not to mention bedded many partners over the years, but Tony was at a loss with Steve. Whenever Steve was around, Tony just couldn’t find the words to say, he couldn’t even look him in the eyes without losing himself in the those endless blue oceans and making a fool of himself. So he had retreated to the sidelines, defeated. Not any more. Tony had decided last night that if Steve was willing to help him through this God awful mess then Tony must mean at least something to Steve. So he was going to make an active effort to get closer to Steve and let him know how he feels, the way normal people show emotion instead of the pre-school bully mentality he had been using.

Steve walked into the kitchen, his hair still damp from the shower. “Morning.” He called as he walked over to the coffee machine.

Tony instantly perked up and lifted his head from the table. “Morning.” He said back at Steve. Steve came and sat down next to Tony at the table.

“I didn’t know what you wanted to do today, Tony,” said Steve shifting awkwardly in his seat. “I can come and sit down in your workshop if you’d like? Keep you company and all.” He wanted to keep Tony inside his comfort zone and he knew the workshop was his safety blanket.

“That would be awesome! Shall we go now?” Tony stood up and tugged at Steve’s sleeve. Steve wasn’t expecting such an enthusiastic response so early in the morning. He looked to Pepper.

“Looks like you guys have plans. I’ll be off then.” She smiled at Steve, grabbed her toast and left.

 

Tony had dragged Steve almost the whole way down to his lab. When they entered Tony began to run around showing Steve all his latest projects, showing off his prized robots and other gizmos lying about the place. Steve noted the child-like way Tony was behaving. It was refreshing to see him let go and ease up from the previous night’s seriousness. _Not to mention adorable._ Tony stopped and looked at Steve. “So, what do you think?”

“It’s amazing, Tony. I had no idea you were working on so much all at once.” Steve said as he continued to look around in awe. What stood out the most to Steve was the way Tony’s past Iron Man armors had been carefully put on display preserve and showcase them. His very own trophy wall.

“You can sit over here,” Tony pointed at the couch where they’d spent the previous night talking. “There’s a TV if you want. I use it mostly for background noise when the music’s off.” Tony rubbed the back of his head nervously. “I can go get you another chair if you want?” Tony was panicking. _‘Have I been too forward dragging Steve down here?’_

“No, no. The couch is fine.” Steve said waving his hand. “Do you want to come and watch TV with me?” Steve asked, expecting Tony to ignore him and go over to his workbench.Tony just nodded and followed Steve over to the leather couch. Steve sat at one end and expected Tony to sit at the other, but to Steve’s delight Tony sat right next to him. Their knees only inches away.

 

It had been a few hours and Steve heard his own stomach’s protest for food. He realised he’d skipped breakfast when Tony had brought him down here. He also noticed how his arm had somehow stretched over the back of the couch behind Tony. Tony was slumped there next to Steve, on the very edges of sleep but still awake...Just. Steve felt himself staring at Tony as he studied the man’s profile.

“I’m going to go and make a sandwich, I’m starving.” He suddenly declared. “Would you like something, Tony?”

Tony almost leapt off the couch as Steve’s voice had cut through his peace and snapped him back to the present. “What? Um, no. I’m good, thanks.” Stuttered Tony as he tried to compose himself. He leaned forward and ran his hand through his hair. _‘I really should take a shower.’_

When Steve walked into the kitchen, he saw Thor and Clint playing video games with the volume almost maxed out, whilst Bruce sat quietly in the armchair up the corner reading. _‘How can he read with all that noise?’_ Just then a stealthy hand placed itself on Steve’s shoulder.

“I spoke to Pepper.” Said Natasha as she took her hand off Steve and moved around to face him. “I hear you’re helping Tony through some stuff. That’s nice of you.” She gave Steve a small smile and walked through to the living room. He narrowed his eyes as he watched her walk away. _‘How much has Pepper told her?’_

“Clint, would you turn that crap down!” Natasha yelled.

“‘Tis fun, Lady Natasha.” Boomed Thor. “Please come and join us.” Thor’s smile faded as Natasha ignored him and sat down with her SHIELD tablet to research previous missions and files.

It took Steve roughly ten minutes to make and eat his sandwich and he headed straight back down to Tony's workshop. When he got down there he found Tony sprawled lengthways across the couch with the back of his hand over his face, the other across his chest. One leg was over the arm of the couch and the other placed on the floor. Steve smiled and watched him sleep for a minute. _‘I need to stop staring at Tony it’s getting...creepy.’_ Tony started to twitch in his sleep. Steve looked on as it began to escalate. The twitching became more violent, his breathing laboured and Tony began to mumble things. Steve rushed over and tried to wake him.

 

He could hear people all around him. Tony slowly opened his heavy eyes. He could make out about six figures looming over him. He saw the bloodied scalpel catch the light. _‘Oh God. What are they doing? Help me! Someone help me!’_ He tried to lift his head to look at what was going on but one of the figures pressed his hand down hard on Tony’s forehead so he couldn’t move. He still caught a glimpse of the massive hole in his chest and Yinsen’s hand deep inside of it. He could feel the pressure pushing down on his torso. _‘Help! Anyone?’_ He began to lose focus and felt himself blacking out from the trauma. He fought to remain conscious and started struggling to free himself but the shadowy figures held him down, one at each of his limbs. It was hopeless.

 

“Tony. Tony, wake up!” Tony sat bolt upright and tried to catch his breath. “Tony!” Said Steve firmly. Tony focused his gaze on Steve and relaxed.

“Guess I fell asleep, huh?” said Tony as swung his legs off the couch and rubbed his eye with his palm.

An alarm around the Tower went off.

“Sir, I have Nick Fury on the line for Captain Rogers.” Came JARVIS’ voice as he brought up a hologram of Nick Fury in front of Steve.

“Avenger’s Assemble!”


	7. VII

“I wish Hank and Janet were here, they’d love this!” Exclaimed Clint as he shot down three giant wasps at once. He heard the audible sigh come from Natasha’s comm. “What? They have a thing for giant bugs!”

The streets were filled with three foot long deadly wasps. It looked like something straight from a nightmare. The buzzing noise was almost overwhelming, echoing through the alleys and off the buildings. Most of the pedestrians had cleared the streets and found shelter indoors. It was just the Avengers versus a plague of oversized insects.

“Smash!” Roared the Hulk as he crashed down in front of the team, taking out about four bugs with him. As his mighty fists struck the ground, a wave of slimey entrails spattered up and covered the rest of his team.

“You know, just once it would be nice not to be covered in goo.” Said Natasha dryly.

“Battle is always messy, Lady Natasha.” Shouted Thor, “The midst of battle is the merriest time.” He raised the legendary Mjolnir above his head and covered Natasha in a second wave of sludge as it came down on yet more flying fiends. If looks could kill, Natasha would have ended the life of everything within a 5 mile radius with that stare alone. A look lost on Thor as he was too busy emulating the Hulk’s smashing style with his hammer.

“Avengers, we need to end this ASAP!” Came Steve’s voice over the loud hum in the air. “We need to lure them to a single point and take them down en masse.”

“How are we suppose to do that, Cap?” Asked Clint as he took out a line of five wasps with one arrow without taking his eyes off Steve. “Other than dive bombing us with their machete like stings, they don’t seem to have a whole lot of organisation in their ranks.”

“Well we need to do something fast because they’re closing in on us!” Shouted Natasha as she ran, dove and rolled past them firing rapidly into the swarm. Just then Hulk leapt overhead and clapped his giant hands together obliterating another three wasps and raining down yet more entrails on her. “Damn it, Bruce! I will poison your coffee when we get back, don’t think I won’t!” Snapped the deadly assassin.

“Sorry to interrupt, ladies,” interjected Tony. “But JARVIS has picked up a garbage truck about half a mile west of here. Wasps just love trash cans, do you think that’ll be enough of a distraction, Steve?”

“I can’t see why not, it’s worth a shot. Go pick it up and bring it back here.” Ordered Steve. Tony loved it when Steve used his Captain America tone with him.

“A garbage truck? That’s a bit improbable isn’t it? They don’t collect till Thursday.” Questioned Clint as he paused and raised an eyebrow.

“Do not question fate, my friend.” Boomed Thor as he swung Mjolnir in a wide circle taking out dozens of enemies in seconds.

Tony came back and flew over head with the truck. He used his wrist laser to cut off the back end and exposed the garbage. He emptied it out on the street below. ‘Aww, crap.’ He thought as rancid liquid trash splashed up onto the suit. He placed the truck on the ground. “Is it working?”

“I think it is.” Came Steve’s reply as they all watched the swarm slowly merge together and head menacingly towards them in a big black cloud of noise and nightmares.

“Holy shit!” Tony took to the skies and darted around the corner and out of sight.

“Tony! Are you okay?” Steve’s worried voice shouted over the comm.

“Fine, Cap. Don’t sweat it, just got a little garbage juice on me. It looks like even insects find me irresistible.”

“Oh God,” whined Clint. “More like insufferable,” he joked.

Steve watched Tony wind through the buildings trying to shake off the bugs. “Thor get ready to shock them as soon as Tony gets close.”

“Aye, Captain Rogers!” Thor began to spin his hammer once more. Tony zig-zagged through the buildings and back towards the Avengers. He was beginning to feel the pull of sleep drag him in,  _‘not now!_ _’_ , his eyes went heavy, just for a second and he clipped the side of a building on his approach. The impact to the suit hit his slowly healing ribs and winded him. At least he was wide awake now. With his trajectory thrown off and him tumbling towards the ground, he narrowly missed the arcing bolt of Thunder called forth by Thor and came to a skidding halt on his ass.

“Tony are you okay?” Asked a worried Steve as he rushed to Tony’s side and put down his shield.

Tony flipped up the faceplate of his armour and coughed a little from the earlier winding. “Never better, Cap.” He said with a wink,  _or was that a wince of pain_ , Tony wasn’t sure.

“My deepest apologies, Man of Iron. That was a little too close.” Said Thor as he offered a mighty hand to Tony and helped him up.

“No worries. Let’s dispatch the rest of these big bastards!” Said Tony as he rose to his feet. He looked over his shoulder and saw the Hulk holding a torn down billboard over his head, with the number ‘3’ wrote on it in wasp guts. “Not funny, Banner.”

 

Once they were back at the tower, debriefed and scolded for carelessly filling the streets with garbage, Steve headed down to Tony’s workshop. He found Tony just being released from the final piece of the Iron Man armour. “Hey, Tony are you okay?” Steve asked, genuinely concerned.

“Of course, Steve. Why wouldn’t I be?” Tony grinned back.

“Well you did fly into a building...”

“Oh yeah that. I may have fallen asleep, briefly.” Tony rubbed the back of his neck nervously.

“Fallen asleep?” Exclaimed Steve. “You should get to bed right now!” Pepper had told him he had to be forceful if he ever wanted Tony to do something.

“Briefly!” Repeated Tony. “I suppose I could try... will you join me?” Tony’s tone softened and he looked down at the floor.

“Of course, Tony. You know I’m here for you.” Steve smiled warmly and followed Tony into the elevator and up to the master bedroom. He tried to halt his urge to put his arm around Tony as they walked.

As the pair entered the bedroom, Steve took note of how empty the room was. A complete contrast to Tony’s workshop.  Everything seemed mostly for display purposes, the only signs that it belonged to Tony were the Stark tablet and a few loose schematics hanging off the bedside cabinet. Clearly a place he spent very little time in. Tony began unbuttoning his shirt and headed towards the biggest ensuite Steve had ever seen. Steve spotted the bandages still wrapped around Tonys torso and saw him run a hand up to them, a pained expression on his face.

“Hey, Tony would you like to take a nice hot shower? It’ll help ease your muscles and get you all relaxed and freshened up for bed.”

“Um, no, maybe...no, I don’t think so.” Tony babbled as he tried to fight off the extreme exhaustion. He hesitated and scrubbed his hand over his face and dropped his head in frustration and tiredness. Steve came up behind him and put his hands on Tony’s shoulders.

“Come on, Tony. For me. I’ll be right here.  _I promise_.” He smiled at Tony and walked into the bathroom. Steve knew it was a longshot but stayed optimistic. Tony followed him cautiously. “It’ll be fine. You just wait there and I’ll get this fired up for you.” Steve turned the handle on the shower. He was hoping to somehow coax Tony into it. As the water started running Steve heard a crash behind him. He spun around and saw Tony on the floor up the far wall looking awfully pale. “Tony! Oh God are you okay?” Tony’s eyes were wide with fear. Steve quickly reached back and turned off the shower and ran over, he crouched down in front of Tony. He put his hands on Tony’s shoulders. He could feel the smaller man shaking violently. Tony rose to his feet with his back still pressing up the wall to steady himself.

“I-I th-think I’m just gonna go to bed.” Stuttered Tony as he slowly began to back towards the door, holding on to the wall.

“I’m so sorry, Tony.” Steve couldn’t apologise enough, “I didn’t think. You need to wash, at least let me try something else?” he pleaded.

Tony stopped in the doorway. On one hand he really wanted to run out of the room screaming and curl up under the luxuriously soft quilt of his giant king size bed. On the other hand he really wanted to please Steve, he didn’t want him to leave. He knew Steve was right, he stunk. He really needed a shower and it’s not like Steve had scared the crap out of him on purpose. He sighed and turned to face Steve. “What else did you have in mind?” Tony asked gingerly.

Steve walked back over to the shower and put his hand up to Tony, “just humour me.” He took the shower head out of it’s holder and let it dangle against the wall. He slowly turned on the faucet so that the water quietly ran down the wall. Tony stood watching intrigued in the doorway but kept his distance. Steve searched through cabinets until he came across a washcloth. He motioned Tony to come over. Tony cautiously edged closer and Steve put an arm around Tony’s shoulders. He faced him away from the shower and peeled the shirt off his back. Tony stood there, still shaking but didn’t resist. Steve slowly unwrapped the bandages, revealing the still visible bruises of Tony’s injury that started this whole thing off. He placed them over the side of the-  _‘jacuzzi. Does Tony really have a jacuzzi in here?’_  Steve pulled the shower head away from the wall just enough to wet the washcloth. He wrung it out and tried to keep the noise of the dripping water to a minimum. Tony flinched as Steve placed the washcloth on his back but he still didn’t resist. Steve softly wiped away over a weeks worth of sweat and oil. He felt Tony begin to relax and he continued to run the cloth over Tony’s back and arms.

_‘This is amazing.’_  Thought Tony.  _‘Steve is so gentle for a super soldier. It feels so good to finally freshen up and the heat really is soothing. Why didn’t I think of this, genius?’_  Tony felt his eyes grow heavy as he put his trust in Steve. He could feel himself lean back into his feather-like touch. Steve worked his way around Tony’s chest a bit awkwardly. When he saw Tony’s eyes close and felt him relax into the treatment, he was happy to continue. Keeping a safe distance from the arc reactor, and giving it a wide berth, he ran the cloth down Tony’s front. He couldn’t help but look on in awe at the glow that came from it, thinking he could almost hear it hum. He moved onto Tony’s head and ran the cloth over his hair a few times, ruffling it slightly. As he moved down and across his forehead, Tony raised his hand and grabbed Steve’s wrist firmly. Clearly he wasn’t ready to have someone put a wet cloth over his face yet.  _‘What the hell was I thinking!’_ Thought Steve, angry at himself for being so careless, yet again.

“Um, Tony. If you wanna continue without me and remove your pants...and everything, I can give you a minute to finish up?” Steve asked awkwardly. He would've happily taken off Tony’s pants but felt the timing was somewhat inappropriate. He handed Tony the cloth and walked out closing the door behind him. Steve was glad Tony hadn’t seen the slight bulge appear in his pants...

Tony reached out his shaking hand to grab the shower head.  _‘Come on, Tony. You can do this.’_   He held the washcloth out with his other hand and let the water run over it and his hand. The warm water still felt so good. Steve had built his confidence up enough to get the job done and even splash a little water on his face towards the end.  _‘Damn this is refreshing.’_  Tony finished up and walked into the bedroom with a towel around his waist. Steve was nowhere in sight. That was disappointing. He had expected Steve to be sitting on his bed waiting for him, Steve had promised after all. With a sigh, he put on some pajama pants.

Something moved outside his door, and Tony poked his head out into the hallway, to see Steve sitting on the floor waiting for him. Tony smiled and Steve smiled back.

 


	8. VIII

“What are you doing, Steve?” Tony asked as he started pulling back the bed covers. Steve put down the chair he had carried from the corner of the room. 

“I was just bringing this,” Steve nodded towards the chair, “over to the bed so I could sit with you.” 

Tony’s face fell. “Oh... I thought you would come keep me company in bed.” Tony let out a little sigh. Steve hesitated for a moment and then he returned the chair back to it’s original location and headed over to Tony. 

“Where would you like me to sit, Tony?” 

“I thought you could lie next to me while I slept. It’s how Pepper used to do it. You know, if you want.” Tony blushed a little as he realised what he was saying and how forward it sounded. Steve took the duvet from Tony’s hand and raised it, he gently put his hand on Tony’s exposed back and pushed him into the bed. Tony didn’t resist. He just let Steve guide him into bed. Steve pulled the covers up to Tony’s shoulders and watched as the exhausted man struggled to keep his dark rimmed eyes open when his head hit the pillow. 

“I’m just gonna run next door and grab a book. I’ll be right back, Tony” 

“M’kay.” Came the barely conscious reply from Tony. 

Steve was gone all of thirty seconds and when he came back, he stopped at the foot of the bed. Tony was asleep. ‘He’s so adorable.’ Thought steve as he carefully lifted himself onto the other side of the bed, trying not to wake the exhausted man next to him. He heard a sleepy sigh leave Tony as Steve shifted himself into position on the bed. After making sure Tony was still asleep, he opened his book and began reading, an easy task as Tony was still leaving lights on everywhere he went. Steve couldn’t seem to stop himself looking over at Tony every so often though. This was the most peaceful and still he’d ever seen Tony. He watched as Tony’s chest slowly rose and fell in time with his soft snores. Steve tried to pull himself away from the blissful image of Tony and concentrate on his book. As a super soldier, Steve’s endurance was much greater than the average man’s and he could get by on just a few hours sleep a night and still  wake up refreshed, if the need called for it. This meant he could easily watch over Tony without worrying about wearing himself out. 

It had been about forty minutes and Steve had lost himself in his book. He suddenly became aware of Tony next to him. The sound of Tony’s breathing had increased at some point, his chest was moving faster. He saw as the sweat begin to gleam on Tony’s forehead. 

“Mmm, no...no, unff.” Tony mumbled in his sleep. He started to shift about under the thick duvet and his breathing grew even faster. Steve slammed his book down on the bedside table and turned to face Tony. Now kneeling on the bed, Steve leaned in close to Tony and began saying his name, trying to wake the flailing man. Steve was just about to reach out and shake Tony when Tony launched himself into an upright sitting position gasping for breath. 

“Tony. Tony are you okay?” 

Tony just stared off into the distance, panting heavily. Steve could see the sweat run down his spine.  _‘What should I do?’_  

“Ton--” Steve was cut off as Tony’s head spun round to face him. His eyes once again wide with fear. 

“Steve! I’m so glad you’re here.” Tony’s eyes glazed over with tears as he planted his hands down firmly on Steve’s thighs, trying to catch his breath. Tony let out a long shaky sigh and dropped his head. Steve was caught off guard by the placement of Tony’s hands and awkwardly put his hand on Tony’s head and ruffled his hair.  _‘He’s not a dog, Steve! Although his hair usually looks so soft...’_  

“Don’t worry, Tony. I’m right here.” Tony raised his head and looked Steve straight in the eye. Giving him a weak smile, Tony let out another shaky sigh. Steve grabbed Tony’s shoulders and pushed him back a little off of his thighs. He slid himself backwards and back to where he had been reading his book, then patted the bed next to him, motioning for Tony to join him. Tony eagerly lay down and rested his head in Steve’s lap, his arm wrapped tightly around Steve’s legs and his other arm draped protectively over his bruised ribs. Steve took a sharp breath in and his whole body went rigid as the man of his dreams planted his head right next to his - now burning - groin. He fumbled for the book on the side table and rested it on himself. _‘Now is not the time, Steve. This man needs you to be a rock.... and not that kind of rock.’_  

A few minutes passed and soft snores could be heard coming from Tony again. Steve finally let his guard down and relaxed. As he stared at the half naked Tony clinging to him, he involuntarily raised a hand and placed it gently on Tony’s head. His hair was damp and his whole body was still hot and clammy from the nightmare. When he started running his hand through Tony’s hair, his whole body stiffened again as Tony nuzzled his head further into Steve’s lap. Steve quickly adjusted his book.

Tony opened his eyes and was met with the sight of a man hunched over a desk. He saw a thin trail of smoke rising in the dim light from the man. Tony threw his legs over the side of the bunk and walked over, rubbing his eye. “Is that breakfast?” He asked, looking around and trying to make out his surroundings in the darkness. As Tony approached, he saw the prototype arc reactor set on the desk, an old hand holding a soldering iron, poking at it. Tony opened his mouth to scream but nothing came out. The man at the desk turned awkwardly and Tony saw the bloodied, lifeless face of Yinsen. 

Tony’s eyes snapped open and he tried to catch his breath. He quickly realised it was just another dream and he was safe at home  _’...with Steve?’_   Realising he had draped himself over the super soldier he quickly sat up and watched as Steve shifted slightly in his sleep. Tony couldn’t help the goofy grin that spread across his face as he watched the super soldier shift and roll onto his side, dropping the book he had obviously been reading while he ‘guarded’ Tony. 

The sound of the book hitting the ground woke Steve and he leapt up off the bed and into action as if he’d just heard a gunshot.  _War can do that to a man._  “Oh, Tony.” He said as he realised where he was, bending down to pick up the book, “did I wake you?” 

Tony shook his head and smiled, “I’m afraid I woke you. Sorry, Cap.” They both smiled at each other and felt an awkward tension in the air. “I, um, I’m gonna head down to my workshop, if you need me.” 

“Wait, Tony you’ve only slept for a couple of hours.” Said Steve as he pointed at the clock. 

“I know, but I’ve got things to work on.” With that, Tony grabbed a shirt from the nearest drawer and excused himself from the room. Steve ran over to the door and watched Tony hurry off down the hallway, waving his arm in the air trying to put on the shirt as he left, all the while followed by JARVIS’ lightshow.

Tony burst through the workshop door and flung himself into his chair, the seat rolled back across the tiled floor. The chair came to a gentle stop as it tapped up against one of the work benches. Tony cursed under his breath and grabbed at his hair.  _‘Damn it Tony, get your shit together!’_ He was so angry at himself for just freaking and walking out on Steve like that. The same Steve who has been nothing but amazing in helping him. The same Steve who has kept his word and stood by Tony even during moments like this. The same Steve who ran his super soldier hands gently through his hair and let him rest his head in his lap so close to Steve’s -- 

Tony’s thoughts were interrupted as Steve knocked on the glass door, with two steaming mugs of coffee carefully grasped in his other hand. Steve grinned sheepishly and raised the mugs in a sort of peace offering. 

“JARVIS.” Called out Tony, to let Steve in.  _‘Why is Steve the one looking guilty? I should be the one bringing coffee, I’m the ass that ran out.’_ Tony was too ashamed to make eye contact with Steve so he spun around on his chair and searched the workbench for his Starkpad. He felt a warm hand plant itself on his shoulder. Steve leant over and brought his face close to Tony’s as he put the mug down on the workbench. 

“I thought you might like some coffee if you insist on going back to work.” 

Tony could feel Steve’s breath on the side of his face, he looked out of the corner of his eye and watched how the light caught Steve’s succulent lips. “Um, thanks.” 

Steve stood up straight and let his fingers dance across Tony’s back as he moved his hand from one shoulder to the other. He felt Tony relax a little. “So can I ask what was so important that it couldn’t wait till morning?” questioned Steve, trying to sound as casual as possible. 

“It’s-” Tony started as he turned to face Steve. He was met with an eyeful of crotch. He blinked in shock and cleared his throat as he adjusted his gaze and looked upwards to Steve’s face. “It’s new pants.” 

“New pants?” Steve raised an eyebrow and instinctively looked down at Tony’s pajama pants. “You know they sell new pants in most stores?” 

“Not for me, for Bruce. I swear to God if I have to stare at that giant green ass one more time I’m gonna lose it!” 

Steve chuckled. “Doesn’t your friend, Reed Richards, use special elasticated fabric? You could always ask him to give you some.” 

“No!” Snapped Tony. “I don’t want his stuff. I will make my own. I’m perfectly capable of making a lousy pair of pants!” Steve squeezed Tony’s shoulder, trying to defuse the sudden frustration bursting forth from his friend. Tony reached across and put his hand on top of Steve’s so he knew he was okay. “It’s just, I don’t like to be handed things.” Tony flashed his famous Stark grin and took a swig of his coffee. 

Steve smiled back at Tony and let his hand linger a few seconds longer before he picked up his own mug of coffee and walked over to the leather couch. “As long as you’re okay, Tony. Maybe when you’re done with that we could go back to bed?” Tony waved his hand in the air and grunted. Steve assumed that was a ‘yes’. He placed his drink down on the small table by the couch and picked up a notepad that had been left there. “Don’t suppose you have a pen lying around, Tony?” Steve asked as he began scanning the benches around the workshop. 

“JARVIS, find a pen for Steve.” 

“Right away, Sir. Captain Rogers, you will find a black ballpoint pen down the back of the couch four inches from the right.” 

Steve wedged his hand down between the cushion and grabbed the pen. 

“Thanks, JARVIS.” Steve picked up the notepad and sat down. “I didn’t think you kept such low tech gear down here, Tony.” Chuckled Steve as he started stroking the pen across the paper.

“JARVIS, can you begin fabricating those?” 

“Certainly, Sir. The prototype should be ready in 58 minutes.” 

“Good.” Tony spun around on his chair and stretched. They had been down in the workshop for a few hours and Tony’s stomach rumbled hungrily. “Wanna get some breakfast, Cap?” 

Steve looked up from his notepad, he’d been sitting quietly and drawing the whole time while Tony was busy working away. He hadn’t complained once. Pepper used to hate sitting down here with him. She would be constantly hovering over whatever Tony was doing or trying to tidy up after him, but Steve just sat and left Tony to it. He’d occasionally gotten up and brought Tony fresh coffee that came with a complimentary back rub, but that always seemed to end far too soon for Tony's liking. 

“Sure, you want to maybe freshen up before breakfast? I could go run the shower?” Steve asked hopefully. 

“Um, yeah, I guess.” Tony answered, caught completely off guard. “I’ll meet you up there.” Tony waited for Steve to leave the lab and walked over to the couch where Steve had been sitting. He picked up the notepad and thumbed through the pages. There were at least ten pages filled with sketches of Tony. Most were pictures of Tony in his wrinkled shirt and pajama pants hunched over the workbench, some were just Tony’s face and a couple were of Tony shirtless... 

“JARVIS, can you scan these images into the system? Put them in a folder marked ‘Cap’.” 

“Of course. Anything else, Sir?” 

“Yeah, don’t let Steve see them.”

Tony jogged out of the workshop and upstairs to join Steve.


End file.
